Top 10 Most Dangerous Volcanoes in Africa

Parts of Africa are highly volcanic, especially the East African Rift Zone. Ethiopia alone has 50 volcanoes that are still active. However, other countries like South Africa, Tanzania, Cameroon and DRC also have volcanoes.

So how dangerous or deadly are these African volcanoes? Below is the top 10 most dangerous volcanoes in Africa!

10) Dabbahu, Ethiopia

The Dabbahu Volcano is also known as Boina, Boyna, or Moina locally. It is an active volcano in the Afar region in Ethiopia and is part of the Rift Valley volcanic system. An eruption in 2005 created a fissure in the earth with a length of 60km.

Ash of the eruption reached villages up to 40km away. An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.5 hit three days after the eruption started. In total 11,000 people fled the area due to the eruption and earthquake.

The eruption created a massive fissure in the earth – Image credit to Anthony Philpotts

9) Marion Island, Prince Edwards Islands, South Africa

Marion Island is the top of a 5000m high shield volcano (similar to Hawaii) that rises 1242m out of the Indian Ocean. The volcano is active and erupted in 1980 and 2004 and is the only active volcano in South Africa. The only inhabitants are a changing crew of approx. 50 scientists who can only escape by boat.

The Marion Island shield volcano

8) Ol Doinyo Lengai, Tanzania

Ol Doinyo Lengai means “Mountain of God” in the Maasai language. An eruption in 2007 caused a number of earthquakes. The strongest of these had a magnitude of 6.0. Older eruptions caused ash fall as far away as Loliondo which is more than 100km away. The volcano remains highly active with eruptions in 2008, 2010 and 2013.

UK-based internet entrepreneur with love for the great continent of Africa. I'm not saying i know everything about Africa but I'm here to offer the world some of the most accurate and interesting facts about the continent.

MEDIA

Search the site

&times

We use cookies to personalise ads and to analyse our traffic. We also share information about your use of our site with our advertising and analytics partners who may combine it with other information they have obtained. AcceptRead More